Grassy Swales Help Church Save $$$

Fifty-five-thousand square feet of asphalt made it easy to find a parking spot at Coeur d’Alene Assembly Church, but all that blacktop was costing the church a small fortune in stormwater fees. When the city of Coeur d’Alene reinstated the fees last year, church officials were caught off guard by the $264 monthly bill. The assessment was based on the square footage of impervious surfaces on church property, which collected runoff that flowed into the city’s storm drains. “It was an expense we hadn’t budgeted for,” said the Rev. Dan Christ, Coeur d’Alene Assembly’s lead pastor. Fortunately, there was a solution. The church worked with city officials to install a grassy swale at the edge of its parking lot. The swale captures the runoff, allowing the water to filter into the ground. Coeur d’Alene Assembly spent about $5,000 on the project and lost seven parking spaces, but no longer has to pay stormwater fees/ Becky Kramer , SR. More here. (Kathy Plonka SR photo: Coeur d’Alene Public Works inspector Shane Roberts, left, talks about the new grass infiltration area at Coeur d’Alene Assembly Church with pastor Dan Christ on Wednesday)

Question: Do you support the city’s requirement that grassy swales be installed on all new developments?